you mentioned a bounceback I also think they are poised for a bounceback but talk to me about why let's talk about the offensive side of the ball first give me your offensive MVP talk to me about this team on that side of the ball and then we'll flip sides to a defensive MVP so offensively you're still super talented right you lost Jason Kelce to retirement but you still have you still have guys you have Jaylen Herz at quarterback you brought in saquon Barkley you have at least three stud offensive linemen and Landon Dickerson Jordan milata Lane Johnson as long as he's healthy right Dallas Gard at tight end Devante a receiver but my offensive MVP is AJ Brown I mean he's just one of he's one of the best receivers in football on any team in any situation looked last year eighth in receiving grade eth in Miss tackles forced by a receiver since 2019 the only receivers with a better receiving grade than AJ Browner Devonte Adams Tyreek Hill and Justin Jefferson uh he's just he's one of the elite guys right he's got size he's got enough speed the after the catch ability he's one of the hardest receivers in the league to tackle AJ to me if they were to lose him and I love Devonte Smith but AJ Brown if they lost him it would be a huge problem he's just one of the best receivers in football You could argue him into the top five I think he's certainly in the top 10 I don't think you can make a top 10 without AJ Brown he does everything for them and I think the biggest thing is getting away from the scheme and the Run game and a lot of the rpos and stuff that they run with GD and Devonte in the slot AJ Brown is just that guy they can drop back one-on-one maybe even one on two and throw the football to and he's going to come down and make the play more often than not right so he does everything he's got size he's got speed AJ Brown is my offensive MVP and I actually have the Eagles getting all the way to the NFC title game I think it's a big bounceback for them okay all right so so I have this team at least getting to the divisional round I I have the way that I had the playoffs set up is I have them getting to the divisional round I think that they were matched up with the 49ers if I remember correctly and I do have the 49ers beating them in the divisional round to get to that NFC Championship although I think certainly if a bounce back is in order they do have the caliber to get back to that NFC Championship game you know for the pure Most Valuable Player I I it's hard to push back too much on your AJ Brown point and there's a couple of players on this team where you could really say man if they lost this play or the ceiling in this team goes down I do definitely agree with you for as good as Devonte Smith is if if AJ were to go down and Devonte were have to step up I mean just the whole depth of the team and I think the entire passing game Operation changes because of how good AJ Brown is so I think that's call out but you know if if I'm working in a world where all of these guys are healthy I actually think the performance of saquan Barkley becomes now the MVP of this team because I already think the offensive line is still going to be good even with Jason Kelsey no longer there I still think the offensive Line's going to be really good you mentioned how good AJ Brown has been over the last couple of years and so as long as he is in that lineup I am expecting him to be that dominant wide receiver I think that Jaylen Herz is playing much more hurt full pun intended I guess uh then he was leading everyone to believe with the fact that he was able to suit up and go out there last year I think he's much more healthy going into this year and I think that we are going to see a better more efficient or more consistent I should say version of Jaylen Herz because it felt like it was there was a lot more variance to his game than we had seen the previous year I think that injuries played a bigger role than even he was letting on because he is such a tough dude from all accounts Barkley to me is the big X Factor here because the Eagles offensive line has been so good over the last couple of years they've had back-to-back thousand yard rushers and it's been different guys it was my Sanders and then it was DeAndre Swift right and so it's almost like saquon Barkley getting in Philadelphia behind this offensive line I don't want to say is a guaranteed a, yards but it feels like it's a guaranteed a, yards but I have a lot more faith in saquon Barkley to be a dynamic player than these other two running backs they were having so if you talk about Philadelphia really bouncing back and getting back to that point where they have one of the best and most efficient offenses in the NFL I think it's going to be led with saquon Barkley because he is going to be such a weapon for them in both the run and pass game and man you look at saquon's overall output as a rusher over the last couple of years I really you just go through his entire tenure when he was with the Giants he's had some years where he's gotten quite a bit of yards he's got two 1300 yard seasons but the dynamic ability you know the the M tackles Force the explosive runs that has not always been there and I felt like that has sort of been limited by the offense around him even with that individual Talent new place I think it's just rejuvenation for saquan Barkley and I think we're going to see the best version of saquan that we have really since that Sensational rookie year that he played back in 2018 where he earned his highest receiving grade and I believe his highest rushing grade of his career I think that we see him get closer to that this year and that is a big X Factor for Why the Eagles offense is going to play really really well unless you had some saquin thoughts we can move on to defensive MVP so who you got there uh I I've got Jaylen Carter up front and look I know there's a big X Factor here and we're going to get into it in a bit about the Eagles in coverage and how bad they were in coverage last year and especially slot coverage but look you're always looking if you're get if you're drafting a defensive tackle in the top 10 you're looking for one of those guys right you there's a clear line of demarcation between the top eight or 10 defensive tackles in the league who are just absolute game Wreckers and the rest and and Jaylen Carter is one of those game Wreckers right got power got speed last year 8 an 84.6 pass rush grade that was the best by a rookie defensive tackle in PFF history even better than Aaron Donald Aaron Donald's overall great his rookie year was really carried I think by a 90 run defense great he's still good in the pass rush but Jaylen Carter was every bit the freak that they said he was coming out of Georgia man and there were times he was just unblockable I think it's only going to continue to be that way you can't block Jaylen Carter one-on-one he he just has he's got all the moves at his size he's got power he could still be a little bit better in the Run game but there's a lot there's a lot of support around him in that front seven to help in the Run game especially on the defensive line Brandon Graham is just ageless right he just keeps playing well Jaylen Carter is this is a freak I I think when you play the Eagles this is the first guy you worry about blocking everything else everything everything else especially in pass protection you just sit there and you go where where is Jaylen Carter and and he can line up in multiple different spots he's an incredible athlete at his size you've got a guy who's he's one of those guys now that Aaron Donald's retired obviously we still have Chris Jones Dexter Lawrence those guys but Jaylen Carter is one of them he's he he's a guy who's good enough on the inside he's got enough talent to win defensive player of the year he's that good and I mean you just talk especially as a pass rusher if you've got an inside guy that could get has the ability to get 14 15 sacks you're talking about an elite elite player Jaylen Carter I think now you know this Eagles team they've been good in the trenches for a long time on both sides they just lost Fletcher Cox who's a potential Hall of Famer Jaylen Carter has taken that spot he's running with it man he's one of the best defensive tackles in the league yeah I think it's a good call out by you you know not that I don't think that people are are not talking about Jaylen Carter it's hard to not to at this point going back to his days at Georgia but this Eagles team is a little bit different right I mean no Assan reick okay you know you bring in Bryce Huff but that is a new change there no Fletcher Cox who's been a main stay on that defensive line for a really long time you mentioned Brandon Graham he's still there but he's 36 years old like it it's not as if Carter is as much of a luxury as maybe he he would have been over the last two years like it's Carter's time now like Fletcher Cox is you know not the the the guy there anymore so it's time for him to really step up I love this call out I figured that you'd probably go with Jaylen Carter so I went a different direction I already think he's going to be a beast anytime he's out been out on the football field in college or the NFL you mention some of the stats there he's been damn near unblockable my defensive MVP I'm gonna go to the secondary because when Philly really struggled last year I feel like it did come from that secondary there was such a big drop off to their overall team secondary grade from 2022 when they made that Super Bowl run to 2023 the team grade I think was it it was like low 60s last year and the team grade previously was in 86.5 I mean Darius Slay and James Bradbury were Elite in 2022 and both of them really did not play well the in 23 and I know somebody in the comments for the show was already saying like hey one of the best things the Eagles did was get rid of both of their offensive and defensive coordinators I agree and it's just got to look way different now the issue is I'm picking Darius Slay for my for my defensive MVP here because as the vet in the group you know James Bradbury is going to miss some time anyways but I think everybody's really looking to slay if there was going to be a corner amongst the two of them was really going to bounce back they're hoping it's slay He's 33 years old now he already said I believe it was just earlier this offseason he wouldn't be playing much longer what really troubled me about slay last year when it comes to corners getting older and all right did they hit that drop off with age slay had a 74.3 grade in in man coverage in 20202 in 2023 last year it was a 37.7 when you play Man a lot of it is I don't want to say less to do with football IQ because that certainly goes into it but there's a lot more athleticism that is demanded to stay in the hit pocket of NFL wide receivers and for you to have such a drop off in man coverage alone 40 Point almost a 40 Point coverage drop off that is that is disheartening uh and so this is a year where yes they drafted Cooper dein yes they drafted Quin Mitchell I think those guys are the future of the secondary but for this upcoming year both of those guys are still rookies you need Darius Slay at the very least to play at a decently high level on the outside if this team's going to get to where they want to go so to me a defensive MVP is is Darius Slay because if he cannot play to the to the caliber that the eagles need him to well all of a sudden you're starting like two rookies on the outside if you want to make a deep playoff run with two rookies on the outside that is a tall tall task no matter how good your front is so I think that them getting slay to show up and bounce back to be at least closer to what his career average has been uh would be really really important for them who's your breakout player for this team so we'll go back to the off offensive line real quick and when the Eagles drafted cam Jurgens a couple years ago the plan was always listen you're going to be you're going to play guard you're going to be a backup you might even start at guard he started at Right Guard last year you're going to be the replacement when Jason Kelce retires he's not going to play Forever we don't think right he's going to be the replacement he has to be the breakout player on this offensive line right you you can have one weak link on the offensive line I know one guard spot I think mikai beckon is projected to be the starter moving in from tackle Jets tackle last year but cam Jurgens if he can hold this thing together and and that's his natural position right he started there for three years at Nebraska then he was kind of a backup as rookie season started at guard last year this was always the plan and played reasonably well at guard last year out of position but I think getting back to his natural position and still playing next to some really good players especially Landon uh Landon Dickerson Jurgens not only because he's talented because he's very talented but he has to be that guy if all of the sudden they have issues with two spots on the interior with Jason Kelce and Jason Kelsey retired still as a top three Center currently in football he would walk into this year as a top three Center in football he's still that good I I wonder if they have to make if you know if they could even make calls to bring him back just for the fun like dude you're just you're still we know you can still play we know you have the100 million podcast now but we know you can still play if you ever want it's like the eron Donald thing right the door is still open but no I I mean cam Jurgens it's huge shoes to fill right you're talking about arguably the greatest Center of all time he's replacing a and you're and look to get back to his natural position I think is Big to get I'm curious to see how much he has to handle and Kell Moore's offense coming in mentally especially in pass protection a and and I think it's a big X Factor you mentioned in sequan Barkley's production you know the Eagles they're always they're always the best run blocking team in the league right now with Jurgens in there it's a little bit different than Jason Kelce can we do all the things where we used to pull Jason Kelce and do all weird schemes and pulling centers and different things with screens as he has athletic that spot as Jason Kelce probably not I would think cuz Jason Kel is an all-time freak but if he can at least fill that void maybe even 80% right back in his natural position where he played at Nebraska I I think cam Jurgens is going to be a really big story to watch when you talk about both in the run and pass games this offense succeeding especially more than they did in the second half of last year yeah look I've never played trenches at the NFL level I've never played in the trenches at any level but just from kind of like how I've watched the game of football I'm I am really excited to see Jurgens uh more at that Center position because I do feel like that is such a natural position for him right because he's a little bit smaller um a little bit lighter of a player he measured into at the combine I'm looking now a shade under 6' three right around 300 lbs but yeah maybe he's playing a little bit less than 300 you mentioned the athleticism I think he's definitely got that right to Kelsey's level we'll see because Kelsey was able to operate with full confidence with his athleticism to work there's zero wasted movements every angle felt like it was perfect when he was getting to his landmarks and and being able to wall guys off and as a pulling blocker whatever it was but Jurgens 4.92 40 yard dash that's 97th percentile for um just offensive lineman in general and then 1.71 so you know getting off the line of scrimmage very fast it's also 91st percentile so he definitely has that athleticism to him but I'm excited for him to get to that Center spot because you get away with being a little bit smaller a little bit quicker that can play into your strengths a little bit more when you are at versus guard you got to have a little bit more sand in the pants you got to be a little bit more bigger you got to be a little bit more stronger so I'm excited to see him there I think it's a really good call out my breakout player is Nolan Smith on the other side of the football it feels like it's the Philadelphia Bulldogs with how they have drafted and acquired uh former Georgia Bulldog players over the last couple of years when Kirby Smart's been churning these guys out to the NFL Nolan Smith was the guy who I was really really excited about for his NFL future because it felt like you know we've seen this from Georgia before we saw a little bit of it from Walker we saw a little bit bit from Michel Williams from last year to this year hopefully where Nolan Smith was very clearly a a standup or at the very least a a five technique and wider Edge rusher player and when he was at Georgia they were still using him as sort of this two gapping run stopping defensive end because he had that much pride in what he did and he was pound-for-pound very very strong but I want I want the Eagles to kind of like let this dude rip a little bit this year he's got crazy athleticism he's an unreal explosive Edge Rush athlete and I want to give him the opportunity to tee off and get after the quarterback much more than he did last year 60.0 overall grade last season 65.8 run defense grade 55.5 pass rush grade on just 204 snaps but this preseason 72.3 overall grade 72.3 run defense grade 70.6 pass rush grade 66 snaps so it's not a ton obviously but 66 snaps is a decent amount for the preseason and he seems to be playing well something else I found when I was doing research for the show there's a quote from Darius Slay about um Nolan Smith one thing I can say about Nolan ever since I met Nolan he only knows one speed he's one of those guys you have to watch out for uh your own self because he'll hit teammates and everybody even in practice he's the guy that's running to the ball all coaches in the dline 10 yards he is not going to be a 10 yard guy meaning like oh he's only going to run for 10 yards he is more of a ball get ball no matter what it's going to be it's going to be a special year for him especially after playing beside behind Hassan reic last year I think it'll be very special so I'm kind of in on the uh on the Nolan Smith hype train this upcoming year so he's my breakout player what about best rookie who you guys best rookie um it's it's probably it's really a co- thing for me but I have to pick the first round pick Quin Yan Mitchell and I think he and Cooper desan could really have a huge impact on this secondary along with ree with going and getting CJ Gardner Johnson back at safety right you men mentioned the coverage before the Eagles were 28th in coverage grade last season and and the one thing I'm looking for first first we'll take Mitchell 95.5 coverage grade in college football over the last two seasons but the best in the country by a pretty wide margin don't don't overlook the fact that you know he went to Toledo all that stuff just he's one of the best corners in the country he might be the best corner in the country over the last two years in college football he could have played at any school he's got length he's got freakish speed he can play off he can play in press He Man Zone whatever you want he's he's built to play it honestly and I think them taking him and dejon as a huge asset what I'm looking for over the last two years the Eagles have the worst slot coverage grade in the league like by far it's it's the one spot slay was solid on the outside 2022 James Bradberry was solid on the outside had a drop off last season but they have major issues defending in the slot it's the biggest weakness on their whole team and Mitchell he wasn't used he didn't play the slot much at Toledo but we saw it a little bit in the preseason even almost intercepted a ball in their first preseason game from the slot so I'm curious I thought dejon would play that role and we would see Mitchell outside but it looks like Isaiah Rogers is winning an outside cornerback job right now so if Mitchell can help them in the slot if dejon can help them in the slot whichever it is and obviously Garner Johnson's versatile too he can play in there we've seen that for years and years but whichever one of these guys or maybe both of them can break out as Elite slot Defenders then you've got a different Eagles defense CU that's really the biggest hole you could just last the last two years and we saw Patrick hes beat them in the Super Bowl just throwing over and over in that area of the field attacking the slot attacking with Travis Kelce lined up in the slot all those things that's where they need to improve and I think quinan Mitchell and maybe even Cooper Dean as well can help them in that spot yeah and you know I I think that them having Cesar Gardner Johnson as well um I saw the Walt said this in the chat and I agree with him like he is also a good slot option for them but I think that for the Eagles certainly with all the new additions that they have to their secondary this year compared last year it feels a little bit offensive liny where you say to yourself like hey let's just get our best five out there right whatever the best five of the nickel secondary that we have in any position we're trying to figure that out so I think they got a lot of flexibility there uh my my rookie is is quenan Mitchell as well back-to-back Elite coverage grades um over the last two years in college football he it was just masterful and how he played the position there so I'm excited to see him [Music]